Birthdays and Tummy Aches
by MalTease
Summary: Submitted as part of the Prompts in Panem Seven Day Challenge, for Day 3 - Gluttony. Katniss and Peeta's daughter, three year old Alba, discovers the consequences of over indulging in her birthday cake. Modern Day AU, set in the Game of Blame Universe, but can be read as a standalone.


_**Set in the Game of Blame Universe, post-epilogue, a few months before the drabble that made up Chapter 7, for plot reasons. Little Alba Mellark discovers the consequences of gluttony. Submitted as part of the Prompts in Panem Seven Day Challenge, for Day 3 - Gluttony. A drabble in the PoV of three year old Alba which I hope you will enjoy :) x**_

I don't like sleeping at all.

I do love my beddie, because it's warm and soft and I have lot space to snuggle with Mommy or Daddy or Teddy Gabe-y, but sleeping makes me miss many nice things and I don't like it. When I sleep I close my eyes and then the sun comes up and I don't how it did it and it makes me sad because I want to know everything. And I ask Mommy and Daddy "why" a lot but I don't understand everything that they tell me.

It is not very nice when I don't understand.

Every night after my bathie I know that it is time to sleep so I say goodnight to all my toys, but I don't like it. I know that they play at night without me, even though Daddy says that they sleep as well so that they can play with me in the morning. I believe everything Daddy says, but I know that this is not true. At night, my toys play, and fairies ride on little ponies and even Mommy and Daddy play games, but I still have to sleep which makes me sad. So every night I try to keep awake but then Mommy hugs me and whispers things that make me sleepy and she is very soft and warm. And then Daddy comes too and hugs me too and strokes my nose with his thumb and then I open my eyes and it is morning and I would have missed everything again.

So every morning I huff and frown and I kick a bit in bed. Then I call out for milkie and I get morning kisses and biscuits and I play and have nice days. Morning kisses are very nice.

But tonight I have to sleep, and I want to sleep but I can't. Tomorrow is the bestest day of the world. It is Christmas which means that it's the birthday of Baby Jesus and it is also my birthday which means that Baby Jesus and I were born on the same day! Daddy is very excited and he told me that it is going to be a very happy day because I am going to be three! Mommy explained that I am two now and that three is more than two so I am very happy. Baby Jesus will remain a baby though. I don't know why. But there will be presents, and then we will go see both my Nannas and Grandpa Mellark and my uncles and cousins and even Auntie Prim and I'm going to be hugged and kissed all day and that is very nice. But Daddy said that tomorrow cannot come unless I sleep so I close my eyes but nothing happens. So then I tell Teddy Gabe-y a story, and roll about with him, but nothing. I am still two because I can't get to sleep and I will be two forever and I try hard not to cry so I think of nice things.

And then I remember of the cake that Daddy was cooking while I played with the Christmas Crib and Mommy made the Christmas tree all pretty. It was smelling very good and so I took the little Shepherd boy with me to the kitchen table and told Daddy that he wanted to taste the cake.

"Little Shepherd Boy wants cake?" Daddy asked with a smile.

I nodded my head and tried to dip him in the bowl where the cake was still gooey and smelt like all the good things Daddy makes all put together and my tummy wanted to eat it all. But Daddy stopped me and told me that the cake is for my birthday and that I have to be a good girl and wait for tomorrow so that I can share it with everyone and we can all have a party. I said that is not fair and that I want it now and Daddy said that I have to be a good girl and obey Daddy and could I put Shepherd Boy back with his sheep please? And he continued to bake and then Mommy took me to bed and told me to sleep quickly so that tomorrow could come.

But tomorrow won't come because I can't sleep and now all I can think of is the cake. My tummy wants it and it starts whining and I don't understand why I can't eat it because it's for me anyway and it's not fair that I have to eat carrots and peas so that I can grow but not cake because I think cake makes me grow as well. So I think about it and try to sleep and I cannot and my tummy whines so I grab Teddy Gabe-y and we get out of bed together and walk to the kitchen.

Underneath the tree is full of presents! That means that Santa came and that means that Christmas is coming too so I jump and hug Teddy Gabe-y and I'm so excited that I dance and fall over and land on him and I sssssh him so that he doesn't make a sound and wake Mommy and Daddy. The present from Auntie Prim is very soft and the present from Uncle Barley and Auntie Laurel is the biggestest in the world and I'm happy and hop to the kitchen and try to climb on the kitchen chair.

It is very difficult because I'm holding Teddy Gabe-y so I set him on another chair and try again. And then finally I can see the cake in the middle of the table and I nearly scream because it is the perfectest in the world and it is in the shape of me and Teddy Gabe-y and I'm wearing my favouritest dress in the world and we are holding hands and I love Daddy so much and I clap my hands, stick my fingers in the cake and grab a piece and taste it and it is so good that I take another piece.

And another one.

And another one.

And then I can't stop until all of a sudden my tummy growls and hurts me so so much that I stop chewing and I see that I ate almost all the cake and then my tummy hurts again and I curl on the floor and I scream "Mom-mee! Dah-dee!" and I cry and cry and cry because it hurts so much.

Mommy and Daddy come running to me and I see Daddy stop when he sees the cake and his lips go all thin and he tells me nothing but just picks me up to take me to the bathroom. My tummy hurts and hurts and then all the cake comes out again and it's all very scary and Mommy strokes my hair and whispers in my ear to calm down. But the more I throw up the more scared I am and the more scared I am the more I cry and the more I cry the less I breathe and the less I breathe the more I throw up. And my tummy still hurts and I don't know what to do and Mommy and Daddy stroke my back and I wail and cry until finally everything comes out I think.

And Daddy still says nothing and his lips are still all thin.

The sun is rising now and my tummy still hurts even though all the cake is out so Mommy gives me some 7-up and lays me down on the couch and covers my tummy with a hot water bottle. I don't get any milkie which makes me sad but my tummy makes me sadder. I fall asleep and when I wake up the sun is up up up in the sky and it is very quiet. I hear Mommy speaking on the phone and I think she is talking to Auntie Prim and she is telling her that I'm sick and that we won't be visiting and that she is really sorry and that she hopes to see her before she and Uncle Rory leave town again.

I try move from the couch but my tummy makes a strange sound and I feel like things are going to come up again but I think Daddy sees it and makes me sit up and I throw up in a bucket he holds under my mouth. I cry a bit and then Mommy comes and sits with me and cuddles me and strokes my tummy while Daddy cleans the bucket in the bathroom.

"Mom-mee?"

"Tell me, lovely?"

"Am I three?"

"Yes you are, Little One. You're three and I'm sorry your tummy hurts on your birthday," she tells me with a sad face.

I'm sorry my tummy hurts too. But Daddy isn't talking and his lips are thin and usually they are thin when he is a bit angry with Mommy. But then they whisper things and they kiss a lot and they love each other again and his lips aren't thin anymore. But I don't know what I'm supposed to whisper to make him love me again and so my heart starts hurting as well.

"Does Daddy love me now that I'm three?"

Mommy looks surprised. "Of course he does Alba, why do you ask?"

I shake my head and snuggle up to her because she is so soft and warm and I love her so much and I think I fall asleep again but before I do I look at the presents under the tree. Will Daddy send them back to Santa?

When I wake up again, Mommy and Daddy are cleaning up the kitchen but Daddy makes me some toast and comes to sit with me. I eat the toast and it is very good and I think my tummy likes it too because it doesn't send it back up.

"Do you feel better?" Daddy asks softly and I am very happy because he is talking to me and he is Daddy and I love him.

I remember that I have to whisper so that he stops being angry so I tell him yes in a very low voice and I nod a lot and I ask for another piece of toast.

"I'm not sure that is a good idea," he replies and then he puts his hand on my tummy. "Is your tummy still growling?"

I think a little and ask my tummy. I like Daddy's hand there because it's very warm. My tummy growls a little bit.

"A little bit, Dah-dee."

"Like a Papa Bear or a like a Baby Bear?"

I think a bit more. "Like a Baby Bear," I reply and I'm happy because Baby Bear tummy doesn't hurt as much as Papa Bear. And then I get another piece of toast and some 7up and I feel good and I want to open my presents and I tell Mommy so. She stays silent for a little bit and then says that we need to see what Daddy thinks as well. I hear her and Daddy talking in the kitchen but they speak in a low voice and I don't hear what they say. I go play with the Christmas Crib and I speak to Baby Jesus and tell him that turning three is not very fun even if it is on Christmas Day.

Daddy comes and tells me that it's time for my bath. Bathie means sleep time and I don't want it because I have slept all day and today has been very bad and my tummy still growls like a Baby Bear but I don't think I should say no to Daddy today. So I obey him and I sit very still as he washes me. Usually we make shapes in the foam in the water and make up stories but today we don't do that and Daddy doesn't speak to me except to tell me to hold my nose and close my eyes when he rinses my hair. It is all very bad and I am three and Daddy doesn't love me anymore so I start crying because my heart hurts.

"Sunrise, why are you crying?" Daddy asks softly as he wraps a big big towel around me. It's very warm and toasty because he always puts it next to the heater and I bury my face in it as I cry.

"I'm sorry Dah-dee!" I finally sob.

"What are you sorry for?" he asks me seriously.

I stop and think for a little. I'm sorry my tummy hurts, I'm sorry that he is angry with me. And I think it's all because of the cake. So I think I'm sorry about eating the cake but I'm not sure. So I look at Daddy and kiss him on the cheek because I'm sorry the most that he doesn't love me so very much anymore.

"Are you angry at me a lot a lot?" I whisper as I snuggle to him. towel and all.

"I'm not angry a lot a lot," he replies, "I'm just disappointed, Alba."

I'm confused. "Why are you pointed, Dah-dee?"

"Disappointed, baby. Do you know what that means?" I shake my head but I know that I won't like the word. I don't like pointy things, except pencil colours. I want my pencil colours to be very pointy. But Daddy is talking again and I want to listen and learn. "It means that I'm angry, but more sad than angry. Do you understand that?"

I nod my head but now I'm sad too. "Because I ate the cake?"

He smiles a little bit and helps me put on my jammies and they are toasty too! "I'm sad because I told you not to eat your cake until today, and you disobeyed me," he replies, and I look down because my heart is starting to hurt again. "I wanted to give you the best birthday ever with your grandparents and uncles and aunties and cousins, and I wanted you to be happy and spend all day getting presents and love and sharing your cake. But you disobeyed and made yourself sick and we couldn't have a party and Mommy couldn't even see Auntie Prim. And all because you were a little glutton."

I am crying a lot now and I don't know what a glutton is but then I think I do and so I hug Daddy and I say that I'm sorry and that I promise that I will never disobey him again never ever ever. He laughs and says not to promise that (I don't know why) but he hugs me and kisses me and tells me that he loves me and we are friends again.

"Happy Birthday, Little One," he finally tells me as he gives me a Better-Better Kiss on my tummy and my nose.

His Better-Better kisses are magic and they make everything better so I smile the biggestest smile in the world.

"Did you like the shape of the cake?" he asks with a grin.

I nod and clap my hands. "A lot!" I shout.

"I would have liked to see your face when you saw it," he tells me, "it was one of the things I was looking forward to the most."

"I did like this, Dah-dee!" I reply as I show him. I raise my arms and open my mouth wide. He just laughs and picks me up and tells me that I can open one present today, and that tomorrow morning I can open the rest of them.

The present from Mommy and Daddy is the most amazingest present in the world! They give me a book of stories that are all about me and Teddy Gabe-y and our adventures in town, at Daddy's coffee-shop, or in the woods with Mommy. Mommy wrote the stories and Daddy made the drawings and I look very pretty and Teddy Gabe-y walks with me and talks to me and we eat cupcakes and do many things and they're all in the book! I squeal and laugh and jump and clap my hands and show it to Teddy Gabe-y. And I look at the happy faces of Mommy and Daddy as finally we can celebrate Christmas and my birthday, and I hug them both and snuggle cuddle and I know that I will never ever ever be a glutton again.


End file.
